Pushtoy for infants



I April 23, 1957 N. PERRY PUSHTOY FOR INFANTS Filed April 2, 1956 vI I INVENTOR. NAOMI PERRY ATTORNEY United States Patent PUSHTOY FOR INFANTS Naomi Perry, Mount Vernon, N. Y.

Application April 2, 1956, Serial No. 575,662

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-32) The present invention relates to a pushtoy for infants, and more particularly, to a toy which may be used by an infant in conjunction with his crib or playpen.

Toys of the push type for very young infants, that is toys which can be moved along a surface by the infant, while the infant is positioned in his crib or playpen, materially aid in the development of eye and hand coordination, and are highly recommended by Workers in this field. Prior toys of this type have involved blocks or sleds which the infant pushes along on the surface of the mattress of his crib, or on the floor of his playpen. it has long been desirable to provide a simple and relatively cheap pushtoy which may be operated by the infant at his eye level, or at a level requiring the infant to be upright. A useful toy of this type must be safe for infants of very tender age, and be able to withstand rough handling and usage.

This invention has as an object the provision of a toy for infants of relatively simple construction, which may be safely used by an infant in his crib or playpen.

This invention has as yet another object the provision of an infants toy which provides desirable digital and visual coordination training for young infants.

This invention has as a further object the provision of a push type toy which may be operated upon the rail joining the uppermost ends of the slats of an infants crib or playpen.

This invention has as a still further object the provision of an infants toy which may be used by the infant to simulate the movement of a railroad locomotive, or other wheeled vehicle.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

Figure l is an elevational view of the toy of the present invention operatively mounted upon the rail of an enclosure for infants.

Figure 2 is a section on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, 16 designates the toy of the present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment shown in the drawings, the toy is shown in use on the top rail 12 of an enclosure for infants, such as an infants playpen or crib. Thus, the rail 12 surmounts a plurality of vertical slats 14 and joins the uppermost ends of such slats 14 together. The toy 10 includes a yoke 16 formed preferably from a flexible plastic, such as Vinylite, Chloroprene, Duprene and vinyl plastics. As shown, the yoke 16 is an integral unit generally in the shape of an inverted U. A horizontally disposed guide wheel 18 of rubber or the like is carried on each of the two arms of yoke 16, with each of the guide wheels 18 being maintained at the same height level on yoke 16.

2,789,391 Patented Apr. 23, 1957 In the illustrated embodiment, the upper part of yoke 16 is of rectangular cross-section with the guide wheels 18 being carried on axle portions 17 of circular crosssection. Guide Wheels 18 are retained in position by horizontal retaining pins 19. However, other crosssectional configurations can be used.

The non-flexed width between the rims of the guide wheels 18 should be somewhat less than the conventional width of the rail 12 onto which the toy 10 is to be mounted. This permits a resilient engagement to be achieved between the rims of the guide wheels 18 and the vertical faces of the rail 12, when the toy 10 is mounted on rail 12, as the yoke 16 is flexed.

The bight or uppermost portion of yoke 16 is flattened and constitutes a seating or sliding surface which engages the top surface of rail 12. Three point contact is thereby assured between the yoke 16 and the rail 12, such three-point contact being achieved by the two guide wheels 18 and the underside of the top of yoke 16. An ornamental object 20 which in the illustrated embodiment constitutes a locomotive, but which may be an automobile or other vehicle is fixedly secured as by cement or other securement means to the upper surface of the bight of yoke 16. The ornamental object 20 projects beyond the width of yoke 16 on either side, and serves as a handle, permitting the infant user of the toy to grasp the toy and push the same along rail 12. The ornamental object 20 should preferably have all edges blunted so that it may be used safely by the infant.

The infant may push the toy 10 along rail 12 in either direction, that is forward or backward, while the infant is in an upright position in its crib or playpen. It is not possible for the infant to displace the toy 10 by a lateral thrust.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claim rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:

A childs pushtoy of the type which may be moved upon the upper surface of the rail of an infants enclosure which pushtoy includes an integral flexible inverted generally U-shaped yoke formed from a single rod of flexible plastic, the central portion of said yoke being rectangular in cross-section and the lower end portions of the arms of said yoke being circular in cross-section, a guide wheel carried on each of the circularly crosssectioned lower end portions of the arms, a retaining pin extending through the yoke beneath. each guide wheel for retaining the guide wheel in position, said guide wheels being disposed generally in a plane parallel to the central portion of the yoke, and an ornamental object secured to the upperside of the bight of the yoke, said pushtoy being constructed and arranged whereby when it is mounted on a rail the underside of the central portion of the yoke engages the top of the rail and the arms of the yoke resiliently urge the guide wheels against the sides of the rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 518,224 Cawdery Apr. 17, 1894 2,774,182 Beder Dec. 18, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,118,948 France of 1956 

